Voice is often something that people new to writing struggle with, and most of us, at some point, have been told by an editor or agent or critique group that our “voice” needs to be stronger, but many early writers struggle with what this means in a practical sense. But even established writers can struggle with voice. Voice is simply the tone your fiction sets, and you want it to mirror as closely as possible your protagonist (main character or MC) and the themes in the manuscript (funny, sad, young, scary, etc.). Here are 5 tips to help you do this:
5. Your narrator is your gateway.
This one seems obvious, but it’s sometimes harder for people to envision, especially in third person (3P) rather than first person (1P). Your narrator (which in 3P is distinct from your MC) should set a tone that reflects the contract you are making with your reader (serious, funny, scary, emotional rollercoaster, angry, etc.). For example, even though it’s 3P, Jane Austen’s first sentence to Pride and Prejudice [It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife] is still famous 220 years later because it (1) is hilarious, (2) reflects the themes of the book and sets up a contract with the reader to expect a light-hearted romp into serious subjects, and (3) represents the character dynamic between the MC and her mother (who reflects/represents society’s expectations for marriage).
Although on its surface, the line might be sympathetic toward the men in the situation (since they have become prey) the humor used lets us know that for such a man, the stakes are low- he is not obliged to marry, which inversely tells us that there is a contingent of ladies who are and who will be vying for him. Even the reader who doesn’t know the horrors that awaited the unmarried woman in Jane’s society will know that to marry for money (security and luxury) is a prize. All of this reflects the impertinent, disdainful, but also loving and realistic personality (voice) of Elizabeth. While Lizzy may poke her bear (society) she will not do full battle with it (for example, she disdains Charlotte’s choice even while she accepts it and acknowledges that it’s a good match for Charlotte financially and emotionally (as Charlotte can ignore the ridiculous in Mr. Collins’ character) and she accepts that Lydia must marry Wickham even though he’s a cad who will treat her badly). Her own half-formed plan to avoid a loveless marriage relies on the realistic expectation that her very pretty sister will marry well and she can become a dependent aunt. Lizzy treats the world as a joke, but she understands (and avoids) its realities. As does our opening line.
4. Voice is in how your secondary characters interact with your MC.
You can highlight your MC’s voice by contrasting it with the voices around them. Is where your MC comes from important to your themes or plot? Show that not just with dialogue, but also with the entire range of diction at your hands. Would your characters say flat or apartment? Parking lot or car park? Use specific language to discuss horses or musical instruments? Even where you have a 3P narrator, this should align to show us the different voices we are encountering in your story. The emotional connections the MC has with the characters revolving around them can show us the MC’s voice, just as Lizzie Bennett’s does. It isn’t only what the characters say to one another, but how they say it.
3. Voice is reflected in setting.
There is a reason Poe’s stories are always set in dark places of loneliness. This is obvious. But how a character interacts with a setting also shows us who the character is. A park is never just a park. How your character interacts with that setting is their voice. Do they imagine themselves in the golden age of Hollywood movies (romantic)? Do they throw a coin into a fountain (dreamer)? Do they shut out the bird song (they’re shut down)? Do they people watch (lonely introvert)? Use your settings to tell the reader how your character experiences the world in their voice.
2. Voice is scene.
The most common way to show voice is (1) how characters speak (their diction, the topics they speak about, etc.) and (2) a character’s internals (how they speak in their own head, and what they are concerned about). But that is only one aspect of a scene. You can recreate voice in a scene through cadence. See the brilliant opening to Carolyn Coman’s middle grade novel, What Jamie Saw, in which our preteen MC witnesses his mother’s boyfriend throw his and the mother’s infant during a domestic dispute. Coman deftly repeats what the boy is seeing in the same way it would be experienced in that traumatic moment, creating for us, not just the scene, but the rhythm of the human mind when it takes in something unbelievable. Even though our narrator is 3P, they recite for us this opening incident to put us squarely in Jamie’s head in this moment of time. We experience the scene as Jamie would experience it.
1. Metaphors and Similes are voice.
These should not only give a shortcut to the emotional core of a scene (ex: quiet as a mouse) but also to the voice of your character and themes. While a metaphor or simile will give you that emotional shortcut, you want one that (1) YOUR character would say and (2) aligns with the broader themes of the manuscript. For example, Anne Shirley, (Anne of Green Gables by Lucy M. Montgomery), is a very bright, yet unrealistic, romantic orphan searching for love. Therefore, even though the book is in 3P, a metaphor coming from Anne’s viewpoint or describing her should be poetic or tinged with drama. This reflects Anne’s voice (or personality) while reminding the reader that this is a young woman who has known deep loss and is coping with it by believing there is an idyllic family somewhere waiting just for her. Similarly, metaphor and simile should reflect the age, personality, and mood you want to embody. A teen in a horror story may see the same trees that Anne sees, but for Anne, they are vestiges of Camelot, while for our teen in the horror story they will seem like some aspect of dark magic. A metaphor or simile surrounding an elderly character is more evocative of voice if it has a nostalgic ring to it or uses outdated language or images, while a young person’s voice will be more contemporary (soft as grandmother’s worn lace versus soft as her favorite old concert hoodie).
I hope these tips help your writing.